2025 Aston Martin Vanquish First Drive: All Other GTs Vanish In Comparison

Not many cars bring up the old childhood joy and revelry these days. Maybe hardcore pickup trucks, the occasional lightning-quick EV, and ridiculous supercars can spark those long-lost feelings. But in my youth, automotive obsession followed the typical story. Dad loved cars, trucks, motorcycles, dirt bikes... And so here, perhaps not quite unexpectedly, we are today.

Back in those days, dad and I had one car and one car only that we referred to as "THE car" above all others: the Aston Martin Vanquish. But actually, this story departs from traditional plotlines in a major way, because I grew up without movies or television to feed or fuel those burning desires. 

One of the first films I ever saw in theaters, however, was Goldeneye, the first installment in Pierce Brosnan's quartet of James Bond movies. Goldeneye hooked me with action and adventure, and the BMWs that probably seemed like a peculiar pivot to other moviegoers never affected me adversely, because I simply lacked context.

By 2002, when Brosnan's final Bond film, Die Another Day, hit theaters, I knew enough to get hooked on another thing entirely—and I don't just mean Halle Berry or Rosamund Pike (nor John Cleese as Q). Instead, the Vanquish aka Vanish caught my eye, becoming truly seminal in my car-crazed teenage years. Once upon a time on San Vicente, a friendly owner even let me sit in his. And about a decade later, when my high-mileage E46 BMW started giving up the ghost, the mechanic's shop I frequented also serviced a Vanquish.

So when Aston recently offered a chance to drive the rebooted Vanquish, now in its third iteration, those formative memories started flooding through my brain, taking me right back to the good-old days. Of course, I leapt at the opportunity.

The Commander Bond theme continued at the Sardinian hotel, Cala di Volpe, that starred alongside Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me. The most memorable scene from that flick? When Moore pilots an underwater Lotus Esprit S1 as a submarine. Elon Musk unfortunately now owns that precise prop car, presumably in his quest to live out real-life Bond villainy, but I can now personally confirm that Cala di Volpe might top my personal list of most spectacular hotels on the planet. And also, just how far we've come from either a 1970s Lotus or even the first-generation Vanquish.

Most importantly, in contrast to the DB12 that ironically dropped the V12 engine option this year, the 2025 Vanquish sports an all-new, twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V12. If that sounds too similar to the outgoing DBS, keep in mind that only the engine's crankshaft pulley carries over—truly, this powerplant represents an insane level of dedication to R&D from Aston at this late date in the internal-combustion era. The new V12 also cranks out 823 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque thanks to forced induction. Those numbers best even the Valkyrie hypercar in both total and specific output.

So much gutwrenching power immediately rears up from the lowest revs while piloting the Vanquish around tiny Sardinian roads, thanks to perfect throttle tip-in and instantaneous response made possible by a nifty "boost reserve" system that overspins the turbos and retains pressure pre-manifold to reduce lag.

Yet despite a noticeable lack of turbo lag, this V12 still builds up the rushing sensation of boost that so many engines lack in the modern era. In fact, Aston implements torque-by-gear programming to prevent all 738 lb-ft (or 1,000 Newton-meters) from resulting in any sketchy wheelspin. Because yes, the Vanquish still sticks with a rear-wheel-drive layout, instead of swapping to all-wheel drive to help tame so much power.

Give the drive mode dial a twist into Sport or Sport+ modes, though, and torque-by-gear goes right out the window. Grab the left paddle, climb up into the powerband, and prepare for shocking levels of shove that border on painful. The Vanquish leaps ahead, tearing up asphalt as only supercars can—truly on another level from the DB12 and DBX707 (though I cannot comment on the lighter, less powerful Vantage). Yet all without losing the grand touring spirit of a front-engined flagship, either, largely because the eight-speed ZF transaxle mounted between the rear wheels deftly handles smooth or snappy shifting with aplomb.

The decision to stick with rear-drive only hints at how special Aston hopes the Vanquish nameplate remains. Only 1,000 per year will leave the factory, in an attempt (hopefully) to maintain exclusivity (and perhaps instill more childhood fantasies that only come to fruition once or twice in a lifetime). But here I must play some devil's advocate because at first glance, in teaser pics, the new Vanquish looked less radical than I expected, somehow less muscular than the original that originally stirred such depths of my soul.

And we need to talk about the rear end, which initially brought to mind the chopped heinie of a Lancia Fulvia or even some hints of Nissan Z. That impression bears exploration, though, especially because the tails of the last handful of Astons served as design highlights. Even if the rest of the Vanquish's profile derives somewhat from the DBS and DB11, unlike the semi-horizontal boattails of those models (as well as the DB12, which I thought worked quite well), now we get this...

But in person, the Vanquish delivers a much more serious presence. And not just while parked on the waterfront at Cala di Volpe, either, even if the large and expected front grille provides a direct link straight back to Bond's DB5. From the front rearward, not everything appears as expected. More air intakes and hood vents, all functional, contribute to 50% more cooling capacity for the engine than the DBS, while also enhancing more aggressive line flow. Yet that aggression never borders on brutish, instead leaning toward a sculpted, skeletal, sinuous aesthetic, as designer Marek Reichman repeatedly emphasized.

A sprinter more than a powerlifter, then, with toned shoulders and hips but multiple elements that emphasize a lithe, agile, vigorous character, too. The carbon side skirts rake upward toward the rear, a subtle double-bubble breaks up a long roofline, which then transitions into more of a ducktail than photography can capture in two dimensions. 

The black panel at the rear benefits mightily from as much carbon-fiber weave as possible, which draws attention to the taillights. Piano black plastic still intrudes on the impression, and the rear looks almost unfinished conceptually. But the futuristic headlights, those sculptural 21-inch wheels, that achingly long hood...

Inside, the Vanquish falls more in line with the latest Astons, with a snappy touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay as previously seen on the DB12 and DBX707 earlier this year. Grip the grooved shifter and drive mode selector knob to experience a bit of tactile heaven. Same for the recessed climate control barrel knobs. Note the copious application of matte carbon throughout.

Actually changing drive modes can cause the only slight delay on the touchscreen, admittedly. And the wide side sills require an extra moment's scooch before I slipped into the smallish seats, which feature adjustable bolstering as I quickly learned. The steering wheel also adjusts almost infinitely, though in my preferred location with the seat a little higher than usual to provide a view over the long hood, some of the small-ish gauge cluster disappeared behind the thick steering wheel rim. Perhaps the point is to focus attention on the road. 

At least the air conditioning blows downright arctic air (a Die Another Day reference, to those following along) in a frigid rush that I never once witnessed previously from a British automaker (Bentley, in particular, could take notes).

Once I adjusted to the new design and tech, confidence in actually pushing the Vanquish through the Mediterranean hills only grew and grew, not to mention the surprisingly infrequent sightings of Sardinian law enforcement, likely thanks to the rapidly approaching vacation off-season. Absolutely hustling, the V12 something of a known quantity—all the power and the glory, forever and ever, amen—the gearbox began to emerge as a true star of the show. Despite the perfectly balanced V12 layout, in fact, the engine only revs to a 7,000-RPM redline.

Smooth yet snappy, instantaneous and telepathic when not locked in manual mode via a button on the center console, this ZF unit compensates for the low fuel cutoff by keeping the powerplant happy in its broad torque curve, and receives that torque through a carbon-fiber driveshaft. It also features the first application of an electronically controlled locking rear differential in a V12-powered Aston. On paper, the diff can clamp from fully open to fully locked in just 135 milliseconds. But a fraction of lockup, more typically desired by humans and software programming alike, comes even quicker.

The diff also contributes torque vectoring for the rear whels under hard braking and cornering, as if a set of 410-millimeter and 360-millimeter carbon-ceramic brakes, front and rear, simply lacked the requisite bite. I almost forgot to mention the steering, too, because it just works: tight, light, and precise, regardless of drive mode. The rim of the steering wheel clocks in at just a bit too thick for my taste, but the ultra-luxe buyer probably expects such extravagances, after all. And I never once believed the claimed dry weight just shy of 4,000 pounds.

As the design suggests, this Vanquish aches to unleash so much power from deep within such a svelte body. I only found a bit of slip and side at the edge of sanity, which seemed most likely attributable to the noise-canceling Pirelli tires despite measuring a hefty 325 millimeters wide at the rear. Noise-canceling might add to the luxurious grand tourer experience, but perhaps lacks some necessary traction when working in concert with an 80-millimeter wider track and lateral stiffness that Aston claims increased by an almost unbelievable 75% versus the final DBS 770 Ultimate. 

On undulating roads, with the shock dampers stiffened up in Sport or Sport+, the wheels do tend to skim a bit (though not quite as much as a hovercraft over a North Korean minefield, in the opening chase scene of Die Another Day). Luckily, perfect weight distribution makes such sensations relatively tame.

Aston keeps the ESP settings separate from drive modes, too, a decision I always support when it comes to supremely powerful, extremely rare vehicles with a base price that starts at $429,000 and can presumably eclipse half a million bucks with ease. But I also appreciated the exhaust valve button, even if the piano black plastic finish for both lacked the final touch of panache. I depended upon discretion as the better part of valor while toning down the warning soundtrack as I ripped through the countryside, in the hopes that carabinieri might not hear me coming in hot from a few kilometers out.

I also hoped for a bit more turbo noise, too, either from blow-off or while spooling up. Only hints of whines and whistlings reached my ears with the windows down and exhaust valves closed. I also never spotted a boost gauge, and would be curious how much pressure the turbos build up and let off, both in normal usage and with the boost reserve system working hard.

Perhaps such considerations trend more toward sports cars than flagships. Because after all, Vanquish has always been about pure presence, powerful performance, sumptuous luxury, and elite exclusivity. Yet in that regard, the small-ish trunk looks tight for golf bags and a strange leather panel above it reflects glare terribly off the raked rear window. But obviously, a hatchback would be simply gauche.

Eventually, I reached the realization that design for this Vanquish represents something of a different proposition than the original, because now the Victor and Valour and Valiant "specials" get the most radical treatments. To my eye, just like Brosnan's Vanish, the new shape looks best in a classic silver (and certainly without the mind-melting blue upholstery of my own tester).

I can pick at the teensiest, tiniest nits forever, whether or not this Vanquish eclipses the original that forever inspired my childhood devotion. But we've almost doubled that car's original 460 horsepower in a quarter of a century, and ventilated seats certainly mean a lot on a hot Sardinian day. Without a doubt, this Vanquish adds another notch to the tally of recent masterpieces that somehow surpass all of Aston's design, engineering, and philosophical targets. Just don't ask who's going to drive it in the next James Bond movie.